im not completely happy with Raiola s play either but he will be here for better or worse for the same reason as you gave for Levy. When I watch a game I watch most plays a minimum of five times until I understand what happened and for what reason and I can understand why they like Raiola, meaning I see what he s good at and how the coaches use that to the lions advantage in their play calling and blocking schemes. sometimes it cant be hidden like when they line up a mammoth NT on a short yardage run and its true that is a limiting factor of having raiola at center.

as for levy, i really liked him as a rookie. but what i ve seen at the tail end of last season when he supposedly played with an injury is no different from i see now. he looks slow, very slow, as in he is slow in a sprint, he takes bad pursuit angles bc he overestimates his speed, and he has slow reaction time. i see him playing the run like a safety plays in a prevent defense, trying to keep everything in front of him but he should be attacking the ball carrier or the lead blocker like tulloch and durant do. even ashlee palmer does this. levy cannot make a downhill play on the ball carrier. in the lions-vikes game they targetted levy and ran right at him, virtually every big run play they had involved levy. even on the 4th and 1 play they ran it right at levy but we got lucky bc KVB crashed hard inside and got to gerhart allowing levy to come up and make the play but if KVB didnt do this its a first down bc Levy hasnt even moved yet. carpenter plays a lot like levy but IMO is better than Levy right now. palmer apparently doesnt understand the coverage schemes very well or else he would be starting. finally the No 1 compliment I ve seen from the coaching staff towards Levy is that he knows all the calls and where everyone is supposed to line up, rarely do they talk about anything more than that. Tulloch as the MLB will learn all of those same things and make Levy completely expendable. Unlike the Raiola situation, there are viable replacements for Levy on the current roster. Also Peterman is more of a liability than Raiola and RG should be higher priority than C.

Culbreath I believe is on the IR.

i agree with what you wrote about the corners but i think you are undervaluing Smith and McDonald some, if we keep Wright/Houston then neither is expected to start but Smith can start. McDonald is a good nickel back especially vs teams that may run more than expected on 3rd downs. Berry is no doubt getting picked on but when he plays what we usually have been doing is playing Berry on the other teams No 2 WR with Wright coming inside and playing the nickel back (ie corner lined up as a linebacker or on a slot receiver) - what Im saying is that the coaching staff seems to have very high confidence in Berry bc they are essentially counting on him to do what a starter is normally asked to do. the corner situation isnt all that difft than the DE situation, we dont really need one but we d love to have a shutdown CB or a great passrushing DE the main difference is that age is a factor at DE with KVB but isnt at corner.

September 29th, 2011, 3:07 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10136Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: Pre-Season 2012 NFL Mock Draft

The Legend wrote:

im not completely happy with Raiola s play either but he will be here for better or worse for the same reason as you gave for Levy. When I watch a game I watch most plays a minimum of five times until I understand what happened and for what reason and I can understand why they like Raiola, meaning I see what he s good at and how the coaches use that to the lions advantage in their play calling and blocking schemes. sometimes it cant be hidden like when they line up a mammoth NT on a short yardage run and its true that is a limiting factor of having raiola at center.

as for levy, i really liked him as a rookie. but what i ve seen at the tail end of last season when he supposedly played with an injury is no different from i see now. he looks slow, very slow, as in he is slow in a sprint, he takes bad pursuit angles bc he overestimates his speed, and he has slow reaction time. i see him playing the run like a safety plays in a prevent defense, trying to keep everything in front of him but he should be attacking the ball carrier or the lead blocker like tulloch and durant do. even ashlee palmer does this. levy cannot make a downhill play on the ball carrier. in the lions-vikes game they targetted levy and ran right at him, virtually every big run play they had involved levy. even on the 4th and 1 play they ran it right at levy but we got lucky bc KVB crashed hard inside and got to gerhart allowing levy to come up and make the play but if KVB didnt do this its a first down bc Levy hasnt even moved yet. carpenter plays a lot like levy but IMO is better than Levy right now. palmer apparently doesnt understand the coverage schemes very well or else he would be starting. finally the No 1 compliment I ve seen from the coaching staff towards Levy is that he knows all the calls and where everyone is supposed to line up, rarely do they talk about anything more than that. Tulloch as the MLB will learn all of those same things and make Levy completely expendable. Unlike the Raiola situation, there are viable replacements for Levy on the current roster. Also Peterman is more of a liability than Raiola and RG should be higher priority than C.

Culbreath I believe is on the IR.

i agree with what you wrote about the corners but i think you are undervaluing Smith and McDonald some, if we keep Wright/Houston then neither is expected to start but Smith can start. McDonald is a good nickel back especially vs teams that may run more than expected on 3rd downs. Berry is no doubt getting picked on but when he plays what we usually have been doing is playing Berry on the other teams No 2 WR with Wright coming inside and playing the nickel back (ie corner lined up as a linebacker or on a slot receiver) - what Im saying is that the coaching staff seems to have very high confidence in Berry bc they are essentially counting on him to do what a starter is normally asked to do. the corner situation isnt all that difft than the DE situation, we dont really need one but we d love to have a shutdown CB or a great passrushing DE the main difference is that age is a factor at DE with KVB but isnt at corner.

I think the reason that Levy will get another deal is because of his ability to play all three spots. If he doesn't get resigned, I won't be terribly upset by it. I am just thinking along the lines of what Schwartz would do. Personally, I'd prefer to see Palmer or Carpenter start ahead of Levy.

I agree that Peterman needs to be replaced. It's why I wanted the Lions to sign Jonathan Goodwin. He could start at guard and backup at center if needed. Peterman got his big deal and has been bad, injured or both since then.

As for the corner thing, let me explain. I don't see the Lions signing both Houston and Wright to long term deals. I believe they will try to re-up Houston, who is now on a two year deal, I believe. I think Wright, if the Lions give him a new deal, will limit it to a three year deal. Smith, McDonald and Berry are not starting material to me. Berry still needs development, if he hasn't peaked already. He looked good in pre-season, but so far in the regular season he looks bad. That concerns me, because I've seen other players who are like that and they really don't have much of a future. I hope it's not the case with Berry, so I'd take a wait and see approach with him. Alfonso Smith? I realize Brady made him look bad last season when he was the starter, but either you step up in those situations or you accept what you are. Smith is a dynamite nickel back, but I think that's the extend of his ability. Perhaps I'm wrong. McDonald was just the leftover player who did well enough on special teams to win the roster spot over Nate Vasher.

The Lions have not spent a first or second round pick on a corner since 1998, when they took Terry Fair ahead of Randy Moss. Think about that....it will be 14 years since we spent a high pick on a corner, in a league where passing is vital to winning, and stopping the pass is equally as important. I think if a talented corner is there, the Lions have to strongly consider the idea of picking him and allowing him to develop rather than waiting until we NEED a corner and throwing the rookie to the wolves like Arizona has done with Peterson.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

September 30th, 2011, 10:24 am

The Legend

Off. Coordinator – Joe Lombardi

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 4080Location: WSU

Re: Pre-Season 2012 NFL Mock Draft

I agree with your assessments. Berry could become Chris Cash who was very good for a late rd pick early in his career but never developed - though Cash had some injuries. I still give Berry some credit bc he s covering the No 2 wideout. Smith as a starter gets beat but he will catch the ball when its tipped or poorly thrown and because of that he can change the game. I wouldnt play him over Wright/Houston but he s a very good insurance policy. I like McDonald a lot more than you do because he plays corner like a LB and is a run stuffer who made some amazing plays on inside runs in 3rd down situations. IE the offense will spread you out knowing that an extra DB is coming into the game for a LB and then they run at that extra DB who is lined up as a LB - you cant do this on McDonald. With the way we are playing it, Wright slides over into that role and is the nickel back and Berry goes outside and covers the no 2 wr. Berry must be better at coverage than McDonald though its tough for me to tell on TV. As for the not drafting a corner high since Fair, we have used a few 3rd rd picks which are still premium picks on CBs though we missed on most of them Goodman, S. Wilson, K. Smith just off the top of my head. Again wouldnt mind having a good corner if one fell to us in the draft but the guys we have are all 26 and under.

October 1st, 2011, 8:56 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10136Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: Pre-Season 2012 NFL Mock Draft

The Legend wrote:

I agree with your assessments. Berry could become Chris Cash who was very good for a late rd pick early in his career but never developed - though Cash had some injuries. I still give Berry some credit bc he s covering the No 2 wideout. Smith as a starter gets beat but he will catch the ball when its tipped or poorly thrown and because of that he can change the game. I wouldnt play him over Wright/Houston but he s a very good insurance policy. I like McDonald a lot more than you do because he plays corner like a LB and is a run stuffer who made some amazing plays on inside runs in 3rd down situations. IE the offense will spread you out knowing that an extra DB is coming into the game for a LB and then they run at that extra DB who is lined up as a LB - you cant do this on McDonald. With the way we are playing it, Wright slides over into that role and is the nickel back and Berry goes outside and covers the no 2 wr. Berry must be better at coverage than McDonald though its tough for me to tell on TV. As for the not drafting a corner high since Fair, we have used a few 3rd rd picks which are still premium picks on CBs though we missed on most of them Goodman, S. Wilson, K. Smith just off the top of my head. Again wouldnt mind having a good corner if one fell to us in the draft but the guys we have are all 26 and under.

Yes, we have used third round picks....but I don't consider those premium picks on that position. Solid starting corners can be found in that round, but it's a rarity. When you are going to leave someone out on an island against guys usually bigger than them, I'd prefer to get someone in the first round, second at the latest, if you are doing it with the idea that they will be starting their within a half year to a year. Of the third round CBs we drafted, Goodman is the only one that had a decent career. I don't feel the Lions MUST draft a CB, but it's something that I'd like to see happen simply because the long term outlook at the position is not all that promising in regards to starters or potential starters.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

October 1st, 2011, 10:22 am

The Legend

Off. Coordinator – Joe Lombardi

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 4080Location: WSU

Re: Pre-Season 2012 NFL Mock Draft

lets say we sign wright for 3 more years and extend houston so we have him through 2013. where would you lean in the first round of the 2012 draft given equal talent? OT or CB? I would go OT, dont mind a corner but think that the OT is the priority

also i think both wright and houston were 2nd rd picks so to get what you want we would need to draft pretty high. which player do you think projects as a good 1sr rd cb?

October 1st, 2011, 10:32 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10136Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: Pre-Season 2012 NFL Mock Draft

The Legend wrote:

lets say we sign wright for 3 more years and extend houston so we have him through 2013. where would you lean in the first round of the 2012 draft given equal talent? OT or CB? I would go OT, dont mind a corner but think that the OT is the priority

also i think both wright and houston were 2nd rd picks so to get what you want we would need to draft pretty high. which player do you think projects as a good 1sr rd cb?

I'd want them to look at OT regardless. It is the second most important position on the field. But when it comes down to it, I want them to take the best player available, if they can't position themselves to get an OT they feel really good about.

As for the best CBs out there, I haven't seen one yet that really stands out to me. I'm sure eventually I'll watch a game that has someone that makes me think that they are a special talent, but I haven't seen him yet.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.